The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1887-03-07
SINGULAR ACCIDENT
ON THE IRON MOUNTAIN ROAD.
A Bridge Over n swollen Stream Glvss Way
md froclpitates Part Of the Train
Into the Flood-A Number OF MI.
rnculous Kscnpos From Death,

ST. LOUIS, March 0..-The railroad acci.
dent on the Iron Mountain railway near
Dc Soto, No., which was very briefly 70.
ferred to late last night, while no! being
at all unusual in regard 10 fatalities proves
to have been quite remarkable in respect
to several circumstances which attended
1t. It occurred at Victoria, thir.y.niue
miles south Of here, a little after 10 o'clock
and was occasioned by the giving way
undcr the train OF tho trestle which
crosses Jexhim creek ut that point. The
train was tho Texas express and consisted
Of baggage, express aud mail car, a smoker,
two passenger coaches and four slespere,
carrying about 1So passengers. A heavy
rain had lallen allNday and the creek was
much swollen. At IIemiutc, the
frat station this side Of tho tres.
tie, tho engineer received orders 10 run
cautiously as the rains had been heavy
and tho creek was out Of it's banks. En-.
eineer Kelly gays he ran slowly beyond
that point, and both he and his tireman.
William Hatch, watched tho track yery
carefully. As ho approached the trestie
Kelly observed the track yas ontireIv
straight and level showing nothing wronv.
and ho went on without The nlichicet fear
or hesitation, but whom hin engine rcache,l
about tho middle OF the tres.le ho fejt Tho
whole structure sinking beneath him. In
en- instant lie opened tho valve Operating
the sir brakeu full width and bro,,ght the
train to 80 quick stop that tho front end
OF ono Oh the cara was crushed in by the
sudden shock. Thia saved the coaches,
but tho baggage, mail, express aud amok-
ing cara went into tho river below carry
Ing with them oil the man on board.
Engineer Kelly snd fireman Hatch
went down with the engine, and were slb.
merged in the Hood. Kelly in his strug-
giles to ireo himself found tha. one Of his
feet was held fast but at tho same timo,
and just aa herealizsd that he mustdrown,
the engine turned ovor, his foot was re.
leased and hc came to the surface, Seis-
ing passing log, he c!ung to It desper.
ate!y, ana was swept down tho torrent and
lodged against tree $50 yards below, With
scarcely atrength enough to move. He
c!naped bis legs aud arma around limb
OF tho tree, became unconscious and yss
not festoCed until TWO or three hours after
he had been taken from the tres, when
he found himself kindly cared
for in house in Victoria. His
face and head were severely cut
two OF bis toes cut from one OF hio feet,
and he is very badly. bruised in various
paris Of tho body. He will recover. Fire.
Ean HGsch was carried about five hun
dred yards down the stream and lodged in
a mass OF brueh or drift and was rsscued
soon after tho food subsided. He is Il
good deal bruised, but not seriously hurt.
Ths postal car was swept away come dis.
tance. Tho poetal clerks, Mccullough,
seaier and Ryan, weso badly bruised and
almost drowned. The smoker, which is
said to have contained some twenty per-
sons, was swep. down about three hun
dred iees below the treatlc, and all OF its
occupanta are believed to have been
saved. There is come doubt about the
baggage man and expseas messenger being
saved, but = lats dispatch from tho wrocf
oaya tina: none OF the train mon were
lost. III iij ~. n > \,